Shifting bail for vehicles



(No Model.)

S. BURDSALL.* SHIFTING RAIL PO-RVEHIGLES.

No. 408,651. I Patented Aug. a, 1889.

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1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN BURDSALL, OF FREMONT, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN V. BEERY AND DAVIDDAVIS, OF SAME PLACE.

SHIFTING RAIL FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,651, dated August6, 1889. Application filed April 25, 1889' Serial No. 308,614:. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN BURDSALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fremont, in the county of Sandusky and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Detachable or ShiftingRails for Vehicles; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters andfigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to detachable rails for vehicles 3 and itconsists in a certain construction and arrangement of parts, whereby thetop or canopy of a vehicle may be easily and quickly removed to form anopen vehicle, and when replaced said parts being firmly secured fromrattling, all of which will be fully hereinafter set forth, and theessential features of my device pointed out particularly'in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification,Figure l is an isometrical view of a vehicle-seat, showing thedetachable rail mounted thereon. Fig. 2 is a view of said rail detached.Fig. 3 is a detail showing seat and brace-irons detached from the seat.Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the vehicle-seat and rail.

As indicated in the drawings, S represents a vehicle-seat, B B theseat-irons, Z Z the brace-irons, and A the detachable rail.

Secured to the top of the ends and back of the seat are the L-shapedseat-irons B B,

said seat-irons having the open slots 8 in.

their forward end, and being provided near the angle with the raisedsupport a. (See Figs. 1 and 3.) The brace-irons Z Z are secured to thebottom and end of the seat, their upper end being bent over theseatiron, forming raised supports for the rail A, as clearly shown inFigs. 1, 3, and 4. The brace-irons Z are secured to the bottom and backof the seat, their upper end being bent over the seat-iron and providedwith the lug e, as shown'in Figs. 3 and 4.

The detachable rail A is provided at its forward ends with the hooks cc, the said rail having through its end portions the holes '0, whichloosely receive the thumb-screw H, the back portion of said rail beingprovided with the depending ears t, having the holes 0. The rail A issecured to the seat by placing the hooks c on the forward or-free endsof said rail in the open slot .9 in the ends of the seat-irons, and,forcing said rail forward, causing the hooks of the rail to engage undcrthe seat-irons, and at the same time the lugs e on the ends of thebrace-irons Z enter the holes 0 in the cars t of the rail, when theholes 12 through the end portions of the rail will register with thescrew-threaded hole f in the seat-iron. (See Figs. 2, 3, and 4.) Then,by means of the thumb-screws 11 passing through the rail into theseat-irons, the parts are secured in position, as shown in Figs. 1 and4.

On looking at Fig. 4 it will be seen that the raised bearings of theseat-iron, into which the thumb-screw II is screwed, is lower than thebearings Z and a on each side thereof. Therefore, when the thumb screwis screwed down, the rail will be slightly sprung between the bearings Zand a. The bearing Z acting as a fulcrum, a leverage force'will beexerted on the outer end of the rail, forcing the hook c tightly againstthe under face of the seat-iron, which securely binds the parts andprevents rattling.

To detach the rail A, the thumb-screws II are unscrewed from theseat-irons, and said rail is drawn back, disengaging the hooks c o andlugs c e, when the rail is free to be removed.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with the seat-irons having open slots at their forwardends, and the raised supports, the detachable rail adapted to encirclethe seat, its forward ends having hooks to engage with the seat-irons,and screws passing through the detachable rail at a point midway betweenthe raised supports, substantially as specified.

2. In combination with the seat-iron having the slot at the forward end,and the raised supports, the detachable rail having a hook at the freeend, said detachable rail adapted to engage with the seat-iron at theback of the seat, and screws passing through the rail into theseat-iron, as and for the purposes specified.

3. In combination with the seat-irons having the open slots at theirforward ends, and the raised supports, the detachable rail adapted toencircle the seat, its forward ends having hooks to engage with theseat-irons, its back portion having ears to engage with the lugs of thebrace-irons, and screws passing through the detachable rail into theseatirons, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN BURDSALL.

\Vitn esses:

R. B. WHEELER, 0. S. WHEELER.

